MICK McCarthy has revealed there is a “quiet determination” about his Wolves squad to stay on top of the Championship table.

Wolves take on out-of-form, injury-hit Norwich tonight aiming to get another strong run going after victory over Coventry on Saturday banished the blip of back-to-back defeats.

The performance against the Sky Blues was far from flawless. But it was enough to dislodge Blues from the top and McCarthy’s men don’t intend to relinquish that place again lightly.

“It means a lot to be top and we are delighted to be there,” the manager said. “After Saturday’s performance we could have ended up lower down.

“The lads were all annoyed and peeved about how we had lost our top slot after the defeat at Swansea. It’s a nice feeling when you’re top but we don’t go around with big smiles on our faces, which I think sometimes people try and get you to do.

“It does, however, give you a nice feeling inside and a quiet determination to try and stay there.”

Wolves have every right to travel to Norwich with quiet confidence. The Canaries have lost their last three games to drop within one place of the relegation zone.

Their problems worsened during Saturday’s defeat at Bristol City when striker Antoine Sibierski and defenders Adam Drury and John Kennedy suffered injuries likely to keep them out tonight.

Wolves midfielder David Jones, meanwhile, might have packed his shooting boots for tonight’s game with a bit of horses-for-courses confidence.

Last week, Jones said it was high time he added to his solitary goal for Wolves so far – but when he went to Carrow Road with Derby in March 2007 he scored both the Rams’ goals in their 2-1 win.